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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 247 (Thursday, December 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 104979-104981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30693]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-714-001]

Phosphate Fertilizers From the Kingdom of Morocco: Notice of 
Amended Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 
2022

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is amending the 
final results of the administrative review of the countervailing duty 
order on phosphate fertilizers (fertilizers) from the Kingdom of 
Morocco (Morocco) to correct a ministerial error. The period of review 
(POR) is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.

DATES: Applicable December 26, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Faris Montgomery or Jaron Moore, AD/
CVD Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401

[[Page 104980]]

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1537 
or (202) 482-3640, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5), on November 7, 2024, 
Commerce disclosed its calculations to interested parties and provided 
interested parties with the opportunity to submit ministerial error 
comments.\1\ On November 12, 2024, OCP S.A. (OCP) submitted an 
allegation of a ministerial errors in the Final Results.\2\ On November 
18, 2024, the Mosaic Company submitted rebuttal comments in response to 
OCP's ministerial error allegations.\3\ On November 12, 2024, Commerce 
published its final results of administrative review.\4\
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    \1\ See Memorandum, ``Deadline for Ministerial Error Comments 
for the Final Results,'' dated November 7, 2024.
    \2\ See Phosphate Fertilizers from the Kingdom of Morocco: Final 
Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2022, 89 FR 
88952 (November 12, 2024) (Final Results), and accompanying Issues 
and Decision Memorandum (IDM); see also OCP's Letter, ``Ministerial 
Error Comments and Comments on Draft Customs Instructions,'' dated 
November 12, 2024 (Ministerial Error Allegations).
    \3\ See Mosaic Company's Letter, ``Rebuttal to OCP's Ministerial 
Error Allegations to the Final Determination,'' dated November 18, 
2024.
    \4\ See Final Results IDM.
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Legal Framework

    Section 751(h) of the Act, defines a ``ministerial error'' as 
including ``errors in addition, subtraction, or other arithmetic 
function, clerical errors resulting from inaccurate copying, 
duplication, or the like, and any other unintentional error which the 
administering authority considers ministerial.'' With respect to final 
results of administrative reviews, 19 CFR 351.224(e) provides that 
Commerce ``will analyze any comments received and, if appropriate, 
correct any ministerial error by amending . . . the final results of 
review . . .''

Ministerial Error

    Commerce has determined that one of the two errors alleged by OCP 
constitutes a ministerial error within the meaning of section 751(h) of 
the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(f). In its ministerial error allegations, 
OCP alleges that, with regard to the provision of phosphate mining 
rights for less than adequate remuneration (LTAR) program, Commerce: 
(1) did not include OCP's allocated debt costs in OCP's total cost of 
production when calculating OCP's profit for phosphate rock; and (2) 
should have calculated a simple average of two datasets provided by 
different parties for a third-market country from the same business 
proprietary data source, as Commerce did with two datasets provided 
from the same business proprietary data source for another third-market 
country.\5\
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    \5\ See generally Ministerial Error Allegations.
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    For the calculation of the simple average of two datasets, we 
disagree with OCP and find that not averaging the datasets was a 
methodological decision and not a ministerial error. However, Commerce 
agrees that, in the Final Results, we did not include the allocated 
cost of OCP's debt in OCP's total cost of production when calculating 
OCP's profit to determine the price OCP paid for phosphate rock in the 
provision of phosphate mining rights for LTAR program as we intended. 
Commerce determines that this constitutes a ministerial error in the 
Final Results pursuant to section 751(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.224(f) and is amending the Final Results with respect to the 
phosphate mining rights for LTAR benefit calculation to correct the 
ministerial error in the calculation of the ad valorem subsidy rate. 
The revised net subsidy rate is provided below.
    For a complete discussion of the ministerial error allegations, as 
well as Commerce's analysis, see the accompanying Ministerial Error 
Memorandum.\6\ The Ministerial Error Memorandum is a public document 
and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service 
System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov.
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    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Ministerial Error Allegation in the Final 
Results,'' dated concurrently with this notice (Ministerial Error 
Memorandum).
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Amended Final Results

    As a result of correcting the ministerial error, we determine that 
the countervailable subsidy rate for the producer/exporter under review 
to be as follows:
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    \7\ Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned 
with OCP S.A.: Jorf Fertilizers Company I; Jorf Fertilizers Company 
II; Jorf Fertilizers Company III; Jorf Fertilizers Company IV; Jorf 
Fertilizers Company V; and OCP Nutricrops S.A.

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                                                           Subsidy rate
                        Company                            (percent ad
                                                             valorem)
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OCP S.A.\7\............................................           16.60
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Disclosure

    We intend to disclose to parties in this proceeding, under 
administrative protective order, the calculations performed for these 
amended final results within five days after publication of this notice 
in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Assessment Rates

    Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.212(b)(2), Commerce has determined, and U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) shall assess, countervailing duties on all appropriate 
entries of subject merchandise in accordance with the amended final 
results of this review, for the above-listed company at the applicable 
ad valorem assessment rate. We intend to issue assessment instructions 
to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of the 
amended final results of this review in the Federal Register. However, 
OCP has filed a summons at the U.S. Court of International Trade 
challenging the Final Results. Therefore, our assessment instructions 
will direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for 
parties to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., 
within 90 days of publication).

Cash Deposit Requirements

    In accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends 
to instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing 
duties in the amount shown for OCP on shipments of the subject 
merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or 
after the date of publication of the amended final results of this 
administrative review. The cash deposit requirement, effective upon the 
publication of the amended final results of this review, shall remain 
in effect until further notice.

Administrative Protective Order (APO)

    This notice also serves as a final reminder to parties subject to 
an APO of their responsibility concerning the return or destruction of 
proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/destruction of 
APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby 
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO 
is a sanctionable violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing this notice in accordance with 
sections 751(h) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.224(e).

[[Page 104981]]

    Dated: December 17, 2024.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2024-30693 Filed 12-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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